Cameroon Girl
Cameroon (01/05)
U.S.-Cameroonian relations are close, although from time to time they have been affected by concerns over human rights abuses and the pace of political and economic liberalization. The bilateral U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) program in Cameroon closed for budgetary reasons in 1994. However, approximately 140 Peace Corps volunteers continue to work successfully in agroforestry, community development, education, and health. The Public Affairs section of the U.S. Embassy in Yaounde organizes and funds diverse cultural, educational, and information exchanges. It maintains a library and helps foster the development of Cameroon's independent press by providing information in a number of areas, including U.S. human rights and democratization policies. The Embassy's Self-help and Democracy and Human Rights Funds are some of the largest in Africa. Through several State Department and USAID regional funds, the Embassy also provides funds for: refugees, HIV/AIDS, democratizati ... [Read More]
Cameroon
Traditional law normally governed the extent to which a woman may inherit from her husband in the absence of a will, and traditions varied from group to group. In many traditional societies, custom grants greater authority and benefit to male heirs than to female heirs. Women also faced the issue of forced marriage; in some regions, girls' parents could and did give girls away in marriage without the bride's consent. Often the husband, who could be many years older than his bride, paid his wife's parents a "bride price." Since a price had been paid, the girl was considered the property of the husband. When a married man died, his widow often was unable to collect any inheritance, since she herself was considered part of the man's property. Often the widow was forced to marry one of the deceased husband's brothers. If she refused, she had to repay the bride price in full and leave the family compound. In the Northern provinces, some Lamibe (traditional rulers) reportedly prevented their ... [Read More]
Cameroon
In April 2002, the Government banned the Ma’alah, a nontraditional religious body, following the March 2002 death of a 6-year old girl whose mother and other members of the religious group had tortured her to death. The group believed that severe beating could extract the devil from a possessed body. Both the Government and the girl’s father have since sued the mother and her accomplices. At the end of the period covered by this report, court action was still pending. ... [Read More]
US Embassy Cameroon: Ambassador's Page
A native of San Diego, Ambassador Marquardt's home is now Virginia. He and his wife Judy have four daughters, and he enjoys gardening, kayaking, tennis, and coaching girl's basketball. Back to Top Sorry, you need a JavaScript capable browser to get the best from this pageSorry, you need a JavaScript capable browser to get the best from this page 1 ... [Read More]
V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G
The Peoples’ Republic of China is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. A significant number of Chinese women and children are trafficked internally for forced marriage and forced labor. Chinese women are at times lured abroad with false promises of legitimate employment and then trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation to destinations throughout Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and North America, while Chinese men have been trafficked for forced labor to Europe, South America, and the Middle East. A large number of Chinese men and women are smuggled abroad at enormous personal financial cost and, upon arrival in the destination country, are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation or other forms of exploitative labor to repay their debts. They often face exploitative conditions that meet t ... [Read More]
Cameroon
In April 2002, the Government banned the Ma'alah, a nontraditional religious body, following the March 2002 death of a 6-year-old girl whose mother and other members of the religious group had beaten to death. The group believed that severe beating could extract the devil from a possessed body. Both the Government and the girl's father have since sued the mother and her accomplices. At the end of the period covered by this report, court action was still pending. Shortly after her arrest, the mother escaped and fled overseas. She remained at large at the end of the period covered by this report and her absence is likely to delay further court action. ... [Read More]
Cameroon
President Biya's October 1997 reelection was marred by serious procedural flaws as well as a boycott by the three major opposition parties. While the boycott made the outcome a foregone conclusion, most observers nonetheless considered the election to be neither free nor fair. Election irregularities especially were egregious in opposition strongholds where boycotting opposition activists were not present to monitor voting procedures. The Supreme Court declared President Biya the winner with 92.57 percent of the vote, and the UNDP, which previously had been an opposition party, joined the CPDM in a coalition government that included a faction of the UPC party.The President's control over the country's administrative apparatus was extensive. The President appoints all Ministers including the Prime Minister. On August 24, President Biya reshuffled his cabinet to bring in 18 new ministers, 16 of whom were CPDM members. The President also directly appo ... [Read More]
Cameroon
On May 23, the Douala police sealed off the premises of Freedom FM, a new FM radio station that Douala-based newspaper, Le Messager, intended to launch the following morning. According to police, the Minister of Communication ordered the cordon because Le Messager had not submitted an application for operation. Le Messager claimed to have submitted its application under a different name but subsequently informed the Ministry of the name change. The Minister of Communication granted the frequency that Freedom FM had applied to use to another private radio station. Station owner Pius Njawe, who previously has been jailed for criticizing President Biya, initiated legal action to recover his equipment, and the trial was ongoing at year's end. In November, the Government temporarily closed Radio Veritas, a private radio station established by Cardinal Christian Tumi, an outspoken critic of the Government; the station resumed broadcasting ... [Read More]
Cameroon
Civil law offers a more equal standard than customary law, which is far more discriminatory against women, since in many regions a woman customarily is regarded as the property of her husband. Because of the importance attached to customs and traditions, laws protecting women often were not respected. Despite the law that fixes a minimum age of 15 years for a bride, many girls are married off by their families by the age of 12 years. In the customary law of some ethnic groups, husbands not only maintain complete control over family property, but also can divorce their wives in a traditional court without being required to provide either verifiable justification or alimony. Traditional law normally governs the extent to which a woman may inherit from her husband in the absence of a will, and customs vary from group to group. In many traditional societies, custom grants greater authority and benefits to male than to female heirs. Another problem facing women is forced marriage; in some r ... [Read More]
Cameroon
Civil law offers a more equal standard than customary law, which is far more discriminatory against women, since in many regions a woman customarily is regarded as the property of her husband. Because of the importance attached to customs and traditions, laws protecting women often are not respected. Despite the law that fixes a minimum age of 15 years for a bride, many girls are married off by their families by the age of 12. In the customary law of some ethnic groups, husbands not only maintain complete control over family property, but also can divorce their wives in a traditional court without being required to provide either verifiable justification or alimony. Traditional law normally governs the extent to which a woman may inherit from her husband in the absence of a will, and customs vary from group to group. In many traditional societies, custom grants greater authority and benefits to male than to female heirs. Another problem facing women ... [Read More]
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